MacBook RAM Issue

click the column heading for "Memory" and the column will sort. if it sorts with Zero at the top, click again to get the biggest RAM user at the top.

If the memory pressure GRAPH (which you omitted) is green, you are worrying over nothing.

Since 10.9 Mavericks MacOS saves up previously read files and seems to fill up almost all available memory, by design. chased files can be freed in naisnstant to make room for program data.

"Unused RAM is Wasted RAM."

... it could be providing you with speedups.

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You have VirtualBox 6.1.16 loaded. That is OLD. current version is 7.0.8, or 6.1.44 is staying on the old version 6 track that EXPIRES at the end of this year.

In my opinion, you do not have enough RAM in your machine to run ANYTHING else while VirtualBox is open. if not actively using it, you should consider removing it.

If short of RAM, having add-ons like aerial companion does not make sense.

ditto Pock

ditto Hand Mirror

ditto Macs fan control

ditto usage helper

ditto hidden bar

ditto rectangle-launcher -- consider using Misson Control and 'Spaces'

ditto speedtest helper, use Terminal command networkquality

ditto launchAltLogin

BettertouchTool ends up showing in the top 6 in both CPU and RAM memory.

you are still running something CPU top six in Terminal under bash, while macOS generally has moved on to zsh.

You are using a lot of network resource running speech recognition. changing settings to keep that local might improve overall performance.

better TouchTool has TWO processes is in the top 6 of Energy usage

it also shows a recent crash

This is damaged:

Clean up:

  ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.glouel.AerialUpdaterAgent.plist

    /Applications/Aerial Companion.app

    Executable not found

You can quickly determine what apps/processes are using your Mac's RAM by using the Activity Monitor app, that's located in the \Applications\Utilities folder.

Run the app, then select the Memory tab. Those using the most memory will be listed at the top.

Hi, Zacenator, yes, all of those could affect your RAM, but may not be using all your RAM. If you run Activity Monitor it'll tell you which applications are using lots of CPU, RAM etc.... As well, your MacBook is one of the ones where you could have upgraded the RAM to 16 GB when you first bought it, (build-to-order option) but not afterwards...

john B

These concepts were invented for, and work well when up to two or three Browser tabs are open.

When you open more than a handful of modern complex Browser tabs, you are dealing with so much current data that there is no way, even with four times the physical RAM you have installed, to keep everything in real RAM. Your Mac responds by compressing what appears compressible (typically text, scripts, and other non-binary data), then spilling over into the Swap File (which will be slower) is inevitable.

On your report, Green indicates you are not in trouble, but a quarter of the graph filled up suggests slowdowns are beginning. The amount of Compressed data (670 MB) is starting to be substantial.

Swap used Data (359 MB) is being forced out into the Swap file on your Boot Drive. I/O to get it back from the swap file also competes with other I/O, so it is even slower. The Swap file is used aggressively 'to clear a big space' when you launch a new App when you are already low on Real RAM. This makes launching a new App despite low memory much more tolerable.

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Best speedup suggestion I can make is to make some Browser shortcuts for your most visited sites and put them in the sBrowser shortcuts bar. Then close a lot of Browser windows. You can pop open those sites with just a click on a shortcut. Closing more of those Big Browser windows will yield a more responsive Mac.

Lets start afresh.

Your main complaint is not really RAM usage, but slowness, correct?

There are many factors that contribute to slowness, RAM shortage is just one small part of that. So solving RAM shortage will not necessarily fix slowness.

To get an idea about what is going on inside your Mac, we use a little "discovery" utility, Etrecheck. it fixes NOTHING. Its only reason to exist is to look around inside your Mac, compile a report of what's, what, and allow its pre-laundered report to be posted back to the forums for readers to analyze. (no personally-identifiable information is included in the report.)

You "Share" the report to the clipboard, then click the "Additional text" tool in the reply footer and "Paste" the clipboard into a reply.

Using EtreCheck to Troubleshoot Potential… - Apple Community

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<< I always close tabs when not using them, >>

¿then how do you have "10 tabs open" ?

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it is a raging misconception that there is limited compute-power in a Mac. Even Macs issued more than a decade ago still have LOTS of compute power.

Drive speeds in recent Macs have speeded up by over 100 times, so I/O limitations (drive speed) have also been eliminated.

But how much "stuff" has to fit in real RAM continues to be a potential bottleneck. Your particular Mac is limited because you chose a RAM size (8GB) that is a bit smaller than what would be appropriate for 2020 and all the things you want to do.

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I use a Mac Pro silver tower 2009 as my daily driver. It has four processors and no shortage of compute power. I have upgraded the graphics, but I don't edit graphics, so GPU power is not essential to me. I have switched to a fast SSD drive in a PCIe slot, so it is comparable to modern Macs in terms of disk drive speed. I upgraded (my desktop model has memory slots) to 32 GB RAM.

But I STILL have to close Browser windows and open them again later. Modern Web sites generate so much data, that just leaving those Browser windows open will swamp your Mac. ANY Mac. All the RAM memory and more.

It is said that when Browser-makers want to "shake down" a new version, they open multiple windows on sports Web sites. if it survives that, it will survive anything.

to uninstall an App that uses a complex installer, download the app again and look for the un-Installer right next to the Installer. Virtual box contains such a tool.

regarding speech recognition and SIRI, on closer inspection, the settings that force processing back onto your Mac are only available for Apple-silicon Macs.

You use a lot of stuff that uses a lot of RAM. for long-term trouble-free operation, you should consider a more-capable Mac with a MUCH larger RAM memory. 24 to 32 GB is not outrageous for the way you work.

when macOS 10.11 El Capitan came out, the advice we gave was that you needed MORE than 4GB RAM to run it in an appropriately-repsonsive way.

Eight years and a whole lot of additional features later, you are still trying to get by with just slightly more RAM than the bare minimum for 10.11 El Capitan, and you love your added features.

Clean up:

    ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.glouel.AerialUpdaterAgent.plist

        /Applications/Aerial Companion.app

        Executable not found

the top line is where the item is called for:

    ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.glouel.AerialUpdaterAgent.plist

the second line is where the item that is missing DID NOT appear:

   /Applications/Aerial Companion.app

        Executable not found

if the file is present, it is badly damaged, and the executable item inside it can not be found.

The solution is either to stop using and delete all references, or to re-install.

Stuff accumulates over time.

A restart will start you off fresh.

Maybe-try this link: https://appleinsider.com/inside/safari/tips/how-to-clear-the-cache-in-safari-on-mac-and-iphone---and-what-it-does…. You can also install an adBlocker for Safari… , available on the App Store…

john b

there are some more items yet to be mentioned:

Login Items.

These are things that, needed or not, will be launched when you log in. You should remove ALL of them them from loading at login.

System preferences > Users & Groups > YourUserName > Login Items

Delete [-] everything on that list to save a little space.

when you need them, they will load just fine when you click on them.

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Keeping your files safe:

You don't need to back up ALL, your files...

... only the ones you ever want to see again.

¿what is the date of your most recent backup, and by what method?

Do you know where I could find this?:

Launch Daemons:

    [Not Loaded] com.BlueStacks.AppPlayer.bstservice_helper.plist (Not signed - installed 2021-04-11)

        Executable: /Library/PrivilegedHelperTools/com.BlueStacks.AppPlayer.bstservice_helper

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copy the reference above up to but NOT including the filename, that is:

/Library/PrivilegedHelperTools

paste that into:

Finder> Go menu > Go to Folder ...and it will take you to the folder where that file appears in a list.

drag that file to the Trash.

I reviewed the report from before and called out everything I could see that MIGHT be slowing performance or gobbling up RAM (which would slow performance). I think you have now done about everything you are willing to do to improve performance.

If not good enough now, you likely need a computer with MUCH more RAM to support the many things you want to do all at once in an appropriately-responsive way. (It works now, but you don't like the slowness.)

In my opinion, your current Mac with only 8 GB of real RAM is not working out for the way you want to use it. A Mac with 24 GB to 32 GB of real RAM might be more appropriate for the way you want to use your computer.

yes, please, if you don't mind. No personally-identifiable information is included in the report. even the drive names are obscured.

You "Share" the report to the clipboard, then click the "Additional text" tool in the reply footer and "Paste" the clipboard into a reply.